FORT GREELY, Alaska – To bolster the nation’s homeland defense, Boeing has delivered two Huntsville-managed ground-based interceptors to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) in Fort Greely, Alaska.
According to Boeing, the interceptors will enhance the capabilities of MDA’s Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system.
Jim Bryan, Boeing’s Ground-Based Interceptor director, said the aerospace and defense company “is making America’s homeland defense stronger.”
“From integration to testing and fielding, I couldn’t be prouder of everyone involved with reaching this milestone,” said Bryan in a news release. “We take great pride in supporting the critical GMD mission.”
The latest round of deliveries are part of the GMD Service Life Extension Program, which Boeing said is crafted to enhance the current interceptors’ reliability. The program also integrates new and existing components to increase the number of interceptors.
Debbie Barnett, vice president and program director of GMD for Boeing, said the company continues “to drive the modernization and technological advancement of the GMD system in support of vital national security needs.”
“The ground-based interceptors remain the only operationally deployed missile component of GMD,” she said. “These deliveries represent the culmination of efforts to expand and enhance our homeland missile defense.”
Boeing is supporting construction at Fort Greely to upgrade the system. This includes incorporating digital engineering capabilities and supporting evolving requirements needed to ensure the system’s continued effectiveness against emerging threats.
Since 1998, Boeing has served as the MDA’s lead integrator and prime contractor of the GMD system. The company designs, produces, integrates, tests and sustains all GMD components deployed across 15 time zones. The GMD system, which is the center piece of MDA’s layered ballistic missile defense architecture, holds the capability of defending all 50 states at a moment’s notice.
With more than 3,000 employees in Huntsville, Boeing is the largest aerospace company in Alabama. The company generates more than $2.7 billion in annual economic activity for the state.
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